Phrases That Need to Die

I don’t know how they got here, but there are several words and phrases that have entered our cultural lexicon that simply need to go the way of the dinosaur. They are poisoning us slowly, like arsenic in our morning coffee. Here are a few that top my list.

5. Woot!
A short, high-pitched, celebratory cheer. It’s onomatopoeia. “Woot!” Or commonly, “Woot woot!” It even replaced “truthiness” as the word of the year this year and was put in Webster's dictionary. Yeah, woot needs the boot. So does raising the roof when you woot it up. The dogs have been let out. The roof has been raised. Woot has been wooten.


4. Same Difference
This has been a popular one for a while…and it’s one of the stupidest phrases ever. It’s an oxymoron, like “jumbo shrimp” or “military intelligence.” Unless you’re talking about the equality of 5-3=2 or 10-8=2. Otherwise, I think the phrase most people are looking for is “same thing.” Because using “same difference” the way you use “same thing” really isn’t the “same thing.”

3. Hot Mess
Aside from the gift of fabulous fashion and the rebirth of the Flock of Seagulls haircut, Project Runway winner Christian Siriano gave us this now overused phraseology phenomenon. It’s not the worst thing ever, but everyone tries to deliver it like he does. It’s reminiscent of everyone asking, “Did I do that?” like Steve Urkel. I can’t take it anymore.

2. My Boo
Suburban, nay corporate white America has started using boo as a term of endearment. It just doesn’t work. It’s like Michael Scott on The Office (or any white person) trying to do Chris Rock’s routines. It just sounds wrong. Anderson Cooper tried to be a “boo” to one of his African American colleagues on CNN during the election coverage last week. Oh, A.C. You are many things, but you are no one’s boo.

1. Baby Daddy
Welcome to the office of redundancy office. Enter and come in. Have a seat and sit down. If you are a daddy, you are some baby’s daddy. End of story. More importantly, why are we lending any support to slang that comes from accusing deadbeat dad’s of siring children they deny any claim to? Might as well just call them “bastard pops.” At least that has some chutzpah!